St. Patrick´s Day

St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated on March 17th, so just be green!
Wear green to school on this day, decorate the classroom with anything green, it can be streamers or shamrocks, student´s pictures,etc.Make this Holiday an opportunity to teach students new vocabulary words.

It´s not easy to find book for our students, and more if we live in a country that the language is not spoken at all. But on the internet there are lots of printable books. This website, www.kidssoup.com has lots of printable that are suitable for EFL learners, but requires a paid subscription. I got this book from that site.

Try to make the habit of reading picture storybooks aloud to your students because:

a-     It helps increase their language development.

b-    It expands their vocabulary and teaches how to pronounce new words.

c-     Curiosity, creativity and imagination are developed while being read to.

In my country, pockets charts are not used in class, but I had been seeing them everywhere in blogland so I had to get one for myself. I used it this time for placing the vocabulary strips the came with the book, in the pockets and reconstruct the vocabulary in the book that I read aloud for the class. It provided the visual information that I needed for the vocabulary words . You can laminate the strips with clear contact paper for later use.

I love photo props which add interest to the class. Teach the vocabulary using them and take lots of pictures. I made mine with glittery fun foam.

Here´s the link for making the props: and they are free!
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/St-Patricks-Day-Photo-Prop-1236333

The beard is from www.projectsforpreschoolers.com

Make a paper bag puppet, it is inexpensive and very simple to make, I got the templates at http://www.dltk-kids.com . I added buttons and wiggly eyes.

Use it as a teaching tool for communication. Have the children use it to say the new words.

 

Birthday Theme Resources for ESL

Get the Birthday Unit resources here:

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Birthday-Theme-resources-for-ELL-1236379

             I created printable Birthday certificates to give to the Birthday child.  Just print and have them ready.

 And make some birthday pencils and have them handy. I bought some black pencils for my set and got an old can to work as a vase.  Cut the slits with an exacto and push the pencil. It also makes a nice decoration for the class. 

I like to teach reading in the same way native speakers are taught to read, using these book that are available on the web. I lost the file for this book. I always make them big to read in class.

This cute activity is from www.makinglearningfun.com. I just made all the cake out of fun foam and painted the wood clothespin yellow to make the candles. 

As for Grammar, present the structure HOW OLD ARE YOU ? Make some  badges, necklaces  or blow some balloons with a number on each.  Have some children come up  and ask them their age, showing the number on the balloon. here´s the link , and print them on cardboard.

   

This is a good theme for reviewing the numbers from  1 to 10. Make the  numbers out of  fun foam.I made nine sets of numbers in different colors. 

Here are some games to play from the book Jigsaw  3

·         Show me game: hand out all the numbers to the students in a ramdom order. Say a number and have those students stand up and show it to the class.
·         Call out different numbers and the children hold up the corresponding numbers of fingers.

·         Draw numbers in the air, making sure you are facing the same direction as the children. Have children say that number aloud.

·         Place or write numbers on the board in ramdom order. two children come to the front of the class. Give both of them a fly swatter.Call out a number. The winner is the first child to hit the number with the fly 
swatter. ( My favorite game, the best gadget for the class)

·         Print the numbers from the template and place the numbers around the room. Call out a number. The winner is the first child to find the correct number. 

                 Teacher: Find number seven.

·         Write the  numbers backwards on the board, pointing to the numbers, starting with number 10, read them aloud.

·         Draw numbers on the board, but with your finger wet with water. Have them guess the number asking questions: What number is this ?

Birthdays mean a lot to children and it is a good idea to celebrate in a simple way each student’s birthday.

It´s easy to make a crown for the birthday child to take home.Use a store bought template like the one that I have here.

Check my Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/rosamelia_eslteacher/

Follow me for more updates!!

Valentine´s Day 2013

For many children that live outside of an English speaking country, Valentine's Day is the first time that they experience the Holiday. Many teachers encourage kids to make valentines. Others just prepare  a class party.  I am sure that many of you have had  your own experiences of Valentine's Day , both the good and the bad, that you can share with the class.

It is nice to have children make their own cards to give to their parents to emphasize their love and have them show family love as part of Valentine´s Day, or maybe make some cards in class for their classmates, but be sure not to hurt anyone´s feelings.

A great teacher from Caracas, Miss Rodulfo, made these cards for Valentine, they turned out so cute.

Here´s a cute favor I made for my kid´s classmates. You can download the template at www.skiptomylou.com.  Print it onto cardboard and follow the instructions on their site. if you can´t find it I can send it to you. (ei98srl@gmail.com)

And for the teacher a Hand Lotion Gift. I glued the hand template onto a cream. I have the free template available by request. (ei98srl@gmail.com)

The original idea came from : 
http://spoonful.com/crafts/clap-happy?CMP=NLC-NL_Crafts_012110_clap-happy

I created the hand template, request the free template:ei98srl@gmail.com

Another cute idea I had to try, I made these for my children to give out as Valentines. I used lollipops. I made the moustache and the mouth out of fun foam. Request the template by mail (ei98srl@gmail.com)

Math activities help students link math to their everyday experiences. This gives them  the  opportunity  to build math vocabulary that will be useful later in life.

Just small hearts with a number on it, makes this game an easy one to pull off at any time.

Crafts:  I got the template fom this wonderful web site (http://www.kidssoup.com/) but you have to pay for membership.  If you want the pattern, please write (ei98srl@gmail.com) It´s done with construction paper and a CD shiny side up I glued the punched hearts. You can either user the text "You make my heart smile" or leave it blank. Use it as a wall picture or bulletin board decoration.

 I based this activity off all the photo booths I've been seeing on PInterest , it´s a huge trend, I thought it might be nice to have a little fun with the class.  I made these Valentine photobooth props.  For the heart I  printed  and  glued  the  foam pieces ,then  added a stick.  I also made a Heart frame, so the students could hold the frame  for taking the picture. 
Request the free templates: ei98srl@gmail.com

                                                   Follow me!!!